The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1887-11-12
WATER ron STOCK.


An Economical Question which Should
Be Studied by All Farmers.
We think the Importance Of good
supply Of pure water for stock Of all
kinds, in winter, is mitch better under
stood how than it was forty or fifty
years ago. We can recall some of the
disadvantages under which stock la
bored, al that time. quite wildly. The
winter supply Of water, for cattle.
especially, was often in the nearest
swamp, perhaps from one hundred to
one hundred and sixty rods from the
barn. When the swamp froze over.
1t became regular chore, every morn
ing. to go down to the swamp and cut
several holes in the ice for the cattle to
drink in. For this purpose it was
thought best to keep an old axe near at
hand, and to give the cattle q better
chance, an old shovel with which to
clean out the pieces Of ice. AS the ice
froze thicker ana thicker, the surface
of the water sank deeper and
deeper below the surface of the
ice and the cattle could only
reach it with increasing difficulty If
there were snow on the ground it be-
came still more difficult for cattle to
reach the water with their mouths We
have seen them compelled to kneel
down in order to reach il. When they
reached it, it was little above freezing
temperature and they drank it slowly
and with reluctance. The water was
from sixty to sixty-five degrees below
the temperature of their bodies. and fill
ing their stomachs with such cold water
often caused them TO SILVER Moreover,
to raise the temperature of that cold
water to nearly one hundred degrees,
the normal temperature of the animals
body, consumed quite an amount OF
heat that must be made up for, either
in the fats of their system or the carr
bon in their food. Hence; quite pro-
portion of their daily rations went to
replace the heat wasted in raising ice
water to animal temperature. We can
see how this would cause shrinkage in
milk in COW or loss of flesh in any
animal
There was another thing in this con-
nection we can recall: When there
was deep snow upon the ground the
cattle would break path through it
with much reluctance, and it would be
narrow path, admitting but one ami
NAL to walk In it at time. General
ly, when the cattle started for the
water the master would lead and they
would follow with almost as much
sticking of right for precedence as the
members of the royal household and
the aristocracy of Great Britain con-
tend for their places on occasions Of
state ceremony. While the leaders
| were drinking, those behind would re-
main standing in the path, and when
the first served were ready to return to
the barn, it not infrequently happened
that the rearmost cattle, rather than
turn out into the deep snow, would re-
turn to the barn without water We
trust that the number OF farmers who
water their cattle in such way, now,
| is very small.
| u
proportion of the water drank by stock,
in winter, even in this progressive age,
is not very much above the freezing
point. in very cold weather. When it
is drawn from deep wells by wind
mills, or by hand pumps, it loses heat
very rapidly in open troughs, and soon
a skim of ice appears over its surface.
The proper way is to pump enough,
three times a day, for the stock, and
either carry it to them in their stalls,
or lead them to the trough and see that
they have an opportunity to drink,
and then draw all the water from the
trough. We are aware that this is a
good deal of labor, with large stock,
but it paws to bestow the necessary
labor upon stock; it certainly does not
paw to keep stock and neglect them.
u late wears. the question of warm
ing the water, in winter, for stock, has
been considerably agitated. Experi-
ments have shown that mich cows will
give more milk and fattening stock
will gain more rapidly on tepid than
cold water, but, whether the water can
be heated more cheaply with wood or
coal. than with hav or grain, has not
been so clearly shown. If all the heat
were utilized to the yerv best adyant-
perature of the water could be raised